Alice in Wonderland

Well it is my very first post and rightfully so the most recent film I saw was one to definitely talk about. I recently watched the highly anticipated Alice and Wonderland, 3D of course. Even though the film had already been out for a few days, I still was waiting in a line to enter the theater. This showed how much anticipation people had for the film and the high expectations that would stem from it. So according to Griff's Guide, I'll lay it out for you in three regards: the good, the bad and the ugly. Following my view of the film, I will give my own rating and advise whether or not to spend your money to go and see it.

The Good: Johnny Depp as always had an amazing performance as the Mad Hatter. According to the cinema class I am currently in, it says that the best actors are those that abide by Method Acting. This technique is when an actor fully engrossing himself in the character he is playing to a point where we are completely convinced he is that person he is meant to portray. Johnny Depp brought out the crazy side that Tim Burton often pulls out of him to portray the spitting image of what we all know as the neurotic Mad Hatter. Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and Helen Bonham Carter as the Red Queen were perfect for the roles they played. They truly represented what good and evil are conceptualized as: white as pure versus red as malicious. And of course, the imagery. The film was a stunning display of the capabilities of today's media effects and with each scene, the viewer escaped into a beautiful world. Tim Burton did his job in bringing the bizarre yet magical world of Wonderland to life. The effects were realistic and the type of color lens they instituted fitted the musky yet picturesque feel of the world. If you noticed all the colors fit the genre of good versus evil. When at the White Queens palace, the characters were more bright and the surrounding sky was more serene whereas the clouds were filled with clouds and torment as well as the quarters of the Red Queens palace were cold and foreboding. The director did a good job in representing the world we imagine yet put a new twist on the ordinary conception. One of my favorite aspects of the movie is that they made sure to incorporate all the major concepts of the book that we hold dear such as Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum, the Cheshire Cat, the hookah smoking caterpillar, croquet with hedge hogs and of course the bunny who is always running late.

The Bad: What is the worst part of having so much anticipating before seeing a film? When that film fails to live up to its expectations. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cinematic aspects of the film however it was the overall narrative that left me unhappy. I felt that the story line was poorly developed and very choppy. I was not the biggest fan of who they chose to play Alice either. She definitely fit the ideal image of the character, however, she lacked a lot of emotion and I felt the film dragged on with her uninteresting displays of emotion. I feel that for such a film, you need a large amount of dramatic elements especially drawn from the characters. The story line was confusing at some points and lacked fluid narrative from one scene to the next. I did not become fully engrossed in the film but rather was checking my clock every so often and ready for its end.

The Ugly: SPOILER ALERT! To the people who have not seen it yet, read with caution. Due to the choppiness of the story, the big reveal at the end of the film was very disappointing. It was meant to be unknown to the viewer that Alice had in fact been to Wonderland before and that she was returning to Wonderland as a now grown girl. The scene at the end of the film where Alice realizes she has in fact been to Wonderland before was anti climatic. This is supposed to serve as the climatic reveal to understand the entire film but it was a disappointing 10 second revelation lacking any real emotion. Alice all of a sudden has this sudden realization while talking to the caterpillar of why she is in Wonderland but it was unexciting and random. The fight sequence at the end as well was very quick and dry. Most importantly I spent more money to see this movie in 3D when I did not need to. The effects were not like those of Avatar where it made the experience so much different. The film would have been just as great without the extra money spent to see it in 3D.

Overall I am glad I saw the film because I had been wanting to since the first press releases came out, however, the film did not live up to its expectations. I would rate it as an average film that should be seen because of the film's imagery and seeing our childhood's memory brought to a new life. I give it a C+